How do we apply Hebrews 10:24, and 25 ? Exelders and others, please respond (page 2)

Nathan Natas

Hebrews 10 24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.

Yes, it is pretty clear from Paul's admonition that true christians were to meet together three times a week for a total of five hours each week.
Why not nine times a week for a total of fourteen hours per week? Wouldn't that be the mark of a REALLY, REALLY SPIRITUAL person?
Gee, how about assembling together 168 times a week for a total of 28 hours a week - now THAT would CERTAINLY mark a REAL Christian, wouldn't it?
"I am SO much more spiritually minded than you - my congregation meets every hour of the day for ten minutes - opps! gotta run! Wouldn't want to forsake the gathering of ourselves together! buh-bye!"
Notice that the WATCHTOWER society has no measure - no theocratic metric - for the QUALITY of such gatherings together - just plop your ass in a chair and try not to snore too loudly, and you're -TADA! - a spiritually minded person, better than your neighbor who goes to that OTHER church, or synagoge, or forest - only once a week for real contemplation.

gumby

but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.

"As you see the day drawing near" eh? What day was he talking about? The end of times day? If he was talking about the end of the world......why were they to encourage one another when they at that time weren't even close to that day? Did somebody write a boo boo?

Also, how were people who lived in rural areas to understand this? Maybe they sold all their possesions and moved in close to town so they could heed this admonition......or live alone and stay where they are at and be considered a rebellious one.

Nathan......I think you also.......are of the devil

Gumby

rocketman

Former elder checking in!......I apply this scripture by visiting and posting here!

rocketman

Seriously, you are getting some good responses codeblue. Nathan makes a good point - why does it have to mean 5 meetings/week? And one could easily take it to the Nth Degree and make it 10, 15, 20 meetings. After all, didn't Paul write "all the more so"? So shouldn't jws be constantly increasing the number of meetings? Well, one only need apply some common sense to understand that Paul was not quantifying meeting together. And it was not restricted to formal worship sessions - Christians had 'love feasts' and they socialized too.

ozziepost

How do we apply Hebrews 10:24, and 25 ? Exelders and others, please respond

How do we apply it? Well, this ex-elder and current elder combined (work that one out!!) accepts that the words refer to the desertion and abandonment of Christian assembly. There's a wonderful thing about Christian freedom- you can fellowship with christians of all denominations, groupings, whatever. This is so different from what the Borg demands of the R&F. Mrs Ozzie and I have enjoyed the fellowship of other christians around the world. Just because we wouldn't particularly like to share in their style of service each week, doesn't mean we can't enjoy good fellowship with them on occasions. There's no limiting of such association. That's what's denied the Borg-ite and why they've "missed the plot" again with their interpretation.

Cheers, Ozzie Visit Smiley Central!

LittleToe

Ozzie:
Here here!

Benny Sikter

Hi Codeblue!

I am an ex-elder and I will give my point of view to your question.

Before you attend a christian meeting you may ask yourself:

Is this congregation a place where really true christians are gathered? Is this particular congregation loyal to God's Word in all aspects, teaching only true things from Jehovah God? Will I be encouraged there to bear good fruits because the members are always considering that I am superior to them? (See John 13:34, 35; 1 Corinhians 4:6; Philippians 2:3)

If you can say Yes to these three questions, nothing can stop you attending the meeting because you like so much to be there. But sorry to say, this good congregation doesn't exist at all. For the moment, even Jehovah's Witnesses are affected with so many nonscriptural teachings that they are no longer true christians. When will the true congregation of Jehovah be manifested? I am still waiting...

Benny Sikter, Sweden

Flowerpetal

where's caleb

Their incessant need to honor routine distorts their ability to grasp simple scriptures. I had been thinking of starting a thread on this myself because I have always hated their application of these scriptures.(Amongst other things)

Wow!! That says a mouthful right there!

What we don't know about the early Christians is how many times a week they met or even how many times a month. But I really don't think they had 5 meetings a week in 3 days. Maybe we should have classes on reading and studying scriptures in CONTEXT and skip the rest except for the ministry school and public talk.

minimus

The Jews met at the synagogue, the temple area, the marketplace and so forth. Every group have had their meeting places to see each other, talk about life, etc. Most people worked from early morning to later in the evening. It's healthy to fellowship with others of like mind. So getting together to share one's faith is a good thing. Early Christians met in little homes or catacombs. They got together when they could. It was encouraging for them to see their friends and family. They even had "love feasts" as get togethers. As was mentioned, there was no set time to meet. Nothing in scripture supports that notion. Actually, Paul had to give instructions to believers about getting a little order when they did get together. So , it was a good thing for these new Christians to get together and share experiences and comfort. Wherever we are, we can make it a point to encourage and strengthen one another.

Flowerpetal

I also agree with Ozziepost. Last month I visited an old school chum from years ago. I stayed at her house for a week. She was born and raised Catholic but is now a Baptist. While I was there, we shared spiritually---not religiously and it was a wonderful experience. We went beyond talking about "world conditions" and why they are like that, and blah, blah, blah. We were on a different spiritual plane and she felt she could share with me something that not many of her friends knew about. It ended up in a crying and hugging session, but she needed the hug and someone to empathize with her. I really feel that brought us closer as "sisters" and I'm not going to let a lot of years go by before I visit her again.

How do we apply Hebrews 10:24, and 25 ? Exelders and others, please respond

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